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Teaching is largely based on lectures. They are an integral part of any education course. With the help of a properly delivered lecture, a teacher can provide educational materials and ensure that students understand them. It’s also possible to find custom essays on this topic or request to make a research and tips how to make your lecture catchy.

Lectures should be properly arranged to be interesting for all the students. By participating in lectures, learners can understand materials better and memorize them. Student participation indicates the difference between covering of the material and its learning. In such a way, students can acquire more knowledge than during the conventional lectures. Tips on giving interesting lectures can be divided into several categories:

• · Beginning a lecture,
• · Encouraging participation,
• · Asking Questions during a Lecture,
• · Using Different Formats, and
• · Ending a Lecture.

How to Begin a Lecture?

A lecture should begin with a certain question. By doing that a teacher can find out about opinions of students. The lecture may begin with a problem statement as well as students’ responses to it. Later on the lecture will investigate and provide suggestions via a discussion. Topic should be introduced by asking learners to respond to particular answers individually as well as put all their ideas together. For example, a lecturer can ask students to come up with 10 types of environmental disasters or provide names of 10 health disorders.

How to Define the Right Tone of the Lecture?

Teachers should encourage participation with conversational tone as well as avoid critical approach to their ideas. The thing is that students are taking risk when talking in a class, and a teacher should be very tactful. Body language is particularly important. You need to consider how to hold yourself, e.g. relaxed or stiff way, since that is pivotal for student participation. Avoid speaking from behind the podium. Instead, try moving closer to learners. Looking at students may encourage them to talk. It is important to know students’ names when asking them to speak in a class. Additionally, you should consider name cards if they do not know each other yet.

Good lecturers should also ask challenge their ideas, which might result in debates. Make sure that students are familiar with the material. Questions should be invited. If some students are not familiar with the subject, you need to motivate them more. A good approach is to provide different ideas regarding the subject on a specific topic and then to explain why a certain idea is the best option. Another aspect that is worth pointing out to is that concerning interruptions, you should decide whether they are acceptable or it is better to speak one at a time. If a student wants something to be clarified, you should encourage others in the class to respond instead of doing that yourself.

The lecture should contain questions. That would be more of a conversation, rather than a traditional lecture. Lecture would be more interesting if there are questions with surprising answers. Questions are more interesting, if a teacher does not expect a particular answer. Without fixed answers in mind a teacher will launch a thought-provoking discussion.

Building the Right Structure of the Lecture

Pauses also play an important role in lectures. You should make them after every major point. In addition, you may want to apply multiple-choice question technique in regarding the material you have covered.

In case there have been readings assigned previously, you should ask respective questions. With the use of slides or maps, it is a good idea to ask students what they see prior to telling them the answer. With these techniques, you will stir the interest in your students.

Role-playing can be a useful technique if you want to change a typical format of the lecture. After a brief presentation delivered by TAs, you should encourage all the learners to discuss the points covered.  

Large-group debates suggest dividing the class into several groups. Each of them should take on a specific position. If there is enough time, it is also a good idea to ask students to switch their debating positions.  In order to illustrate your lecture points better, you should use specific cases.

To enrich thought-provoking process, you should pause your lecture and tell students to write down their thoughts on a certain question. After that, get everyone involved in the discussion. Writing down thoughts will help them to present their responses more logically and coherently. Lastly, when you end your lecture, find some time for questions. You will be able to see if they have understood all the points.

To sum up, in lecturing there are many ways to make the process more interesting. Instead of sticking to dry-out procedure, a teacher should be more creative and introduce new techniques. Approaches described above help to invite active participation of students, which in turn allows to understand materials in the lecture better as well as memorize key facts.